Boilermakers end Brohm’s first season with bowl win
Quarterback Sindelar throws winning TD pass with 1:44 left
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
— Elijah Sindelar threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Mahoungou with 1:44 remaining and Purdue capped coach Jeff Brohm’s first season in dramatic style with a 38-35 victory over Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl on Wednesday night.
The Boilermakers (7-6) had squandered a 17-point halftime lead when Khalil Tate threw his fifth TD pass with
3:21 remaining to give the Wildcats (7-6) the lead.
But Sindelar responded with a 75-yard drive that ended with the deep throw into the end zone to Mahoungou, giving the Boilermakers their first winning record since 2011 and first bowl win over a major conference team since beating Washington in the 2002 Sun Bowl.
Sindelar threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns, with Mahoungou (118 yards) and Gregory Phillips (149) each topping the 100yard mark and catching two TD passes.
Tate was just as good, showing he can win with his arm as well as he can with his legs that carried him to 1,353 yards rushing in the regular season. Tate threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns but his late interception to Jacob Thieneman ended the comeback attempt.
Brohm pulled out all the stops, going for it three times on fourth down, calling a couple of flea-flickers and using an innovative trick play to set up a field goal at the end of the first half that made it 31-14.
The Boilermakers took over at their 32 with 56 seconds left after Tate lost a fumble. Purdue appeared to be taking a knee on the play to run out the clock, but running back D.J. Knox was crouching hidden behind a guard. Sindelar then handed the ball to Knox, who waited an instant and then ran around left end for a 30-yard gain that helped set up the field goal.
Texas Bowl Texas 33, Missouri 16 —
At Houston, freshman running back Daniel Young had 64 yards receiving with a touchdown and added 48 yards on the ground to help Texas beat Missouri in the Texas Bowl.
The Longhorns (7-6), in a bowl for the first time since 2014, bounced back from a loss to Texas Tech in their regular-season finale to finish with their first winning record since going 8-5 in Mack Brown’s final season in 2013. Texas snapped a sixgame winning streak for the Tigers (7-6).
Independence Bowl Florida State 42, Southern Mississippi 13 —
At Shreveport, La., James Where: Line:
What’s at stake: This bowl matchup will be an ultimate clash of styles — one of the best offenses in America versus one of the best defenses. The Cowboys score an average of 46.3 points per game; the Hokies give up an average of 13.5. Blackman threw three of his Independence Bowl-record four touchdown passes to Auden Tate and Florida
State beat Southern Mississippi.
Florida State (7-6) avoided its first losing season since 1976. Southern Miss (8-5) was led by Ito Smith, who ran for 92 yards.
Pinstripe Bowl Iowa 27, Boston College 20 —
At New York, Drake Kulick fought for a 17 touchdowns this season and needs just 57 yards against the Horned Frogs to break Christian Mccaffrey’s school record set in 2015.
1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter on his only carry of the game and Iowa beat Boston College the frigid Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to snap a five-game bowl losing streak.
The Hawkeyes (8-5) had been the only team in the nation to lose a bowl game in each of the last four seasons. Iowa had last won a bowl game in 2010 and started the losing streak the next season.